The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-10-08
AN INTERESTING SKETCH.
History and Object of the Woman's Chris
tian Temperance Union.

History and Object of the Womans Chris
tian Temperance Union.
The chief paper read before the
American Social Science Association
recently was written by Miss Frances
E. Willard, president of the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union. The
title was: Woman and the Temper
ance Question" 1t opened with
historical sketch of the society of
which Miss Willard is the chief officer
and of the women's Temperance So
c.eties which preceded it. The sketch
was of decided interest. Some of its
most striking passages were the fol-
lowing:
1t was at the Temperance convention
held in New York State in 1928 that
the intolerance of men who would not
admit women as delegates gave its
great impetus to the womans' rights
movements, and it may be claimed
without doing any injustice that the
woman's movement of to-day is no.
where so Systematically organized, or
so steadily and powerfully growing, as
in the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union. But it should be distinctly I'M
derstood that while frankly avowed,
| this movement is the oblique
! while Temperance is the direct
/ line. The committee on "plan
of work reported sixteen specif-
cations. From this report the follow
ing extracts are taken: 1--WE urge the
formation of Woman's Christian
Temperance Union in every State, city,
town and village. We urge the care
full circulation of Temperance litera-
ture in the peoples homes and in sa-
looms, teaching the children in Sunday
schools and the public schools the eth
les, chemistry, physiology and hygiene
of total abstinence; seeking permission
to edit column in the interest of Tenn
perance in every newspaper in the
land, and in all possible ways enlisting
the press in this reform; endeavoring
to secure from the pastors everywhere
frequent Temperance sermons and
special services in connection with the
weekly prayer-meeting and Sunday
school, at stated intervals, if they be
only quarterly; establishing an anti
treat league, Temperance coffee rooms
and friendly inns, homes for inebriate
women, reformed mems clubs and null
tiplication Of public drinking foun-
tains." 1t is given to few reformers to
see their plans so generally adopted
within period so brief as that which
has elapsed since the Cleveland conven-
ton. The international Sunday-school
convention at its Atlanta meeting in
1881, in response to a great petition
presented by the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union, took favorable ac-
ton on the request for a quarterly
Temperance lesson in the international
series. and the two triennial conven-
tons since then have strengthened the
provision by which 100000 Sunday
school children are placed under Tera-
perance instruction from the Bible
point of view. In 1882 the first scien-
tific Temperance instruction law was
adopted by Vermont, and that great
work has been carried steadily for
ward by the Women's Christian Tenn
perance Union until now in
twenty-five State and nine Ter
ritores the study of hygiene with
special reference to the effects of
stimulants and narcotics" is by legal
enactment regularly taught in all
grades, and in several States failure
to do this involves forfeiture of the
educational fund. Besides all this, the
first Temperance legislation ever won
from the reluctant National Congress,
in 1856, was result of the combined
attack of our forces led by Mrs.
Mary H. Hunt, of Boston, our Ma
tional superintendent of this branch
of our work. BY its provisions the
scientific Temperance law now extends
to all the Territories, to the Military
Academy at West Point, the Naval
Academy at Annapolis, and wherever
any school receives funds from the
United States Treasury, placing 1000
600 of children under scientific Tenn
perance instruction.
Under the general divisions of pre-
ventive, educational, evangelistic, So
cial and legal, and the department OF
organization, the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union now carries on
forty distinct lines of work, and it is,
with its thirty-eight auxiliary State
and nine Territorial unions, besides
that of the District of Columbia, the
, largest society ever composed exclu-
sively of women and conducted en-
tirely by them. 1t has been organized
in every State and Territory and To-
cality in about 10000 towns and cities.
Great Britain, Canada and Australia
have also organized. As a general
estimate, the returns being altogether
! Incomplete, we think tn. nupber Of